Text 44713, 136 rader
Skriven 2006-12-24 11:57:00 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
  Kommentar till text 44656 av Ed Hulett (1:123/789.0)
Ärende: America
===============
Hello Ed!

On Saturday December 23 2006 21:34, you wrote to me:

 EH>>>>> No, it was the FIDO heirarchy who allowed FIDO to die. They could
 EH>>>>> have made FIDO more attractive than uselessnet, but they didn't.

 MvdV>>>> How?

 EH>>> I don't claim to have the answer.

 MvdV>> If you can not tell HOW it could be done, how can you be so
 MvdV>> sure that it could have been done at all?

 EH> You are such a pessemist.

I prefer to look upon myself as a realist.

When you get to a certain age you realise that time is the only commodity that
really matters as it is truly irreplaceable. So I do not want to waste time. As
a consequence I stay away from things that are in all likehood impossible.

And believe it or not many things *are* impossible.

 EH>>> I'm sure someone more creative than me in that area could come
 EH>>> up with something.

 MvdV>> Well, they didn't.

 EH> No joke?

Nothing that worked anyway.

 MvdV>> Your penis may be bigger than mine, but there is no way you
 MvdV>> could have been using FIDO as early as the late 70s. Fido was
 MvdV>> created in 1984 by Tom Jennings.

 EH> Hmmm... ok so it wasn't FIDO back then, but I've been using a form of
 EH> echomail since I got my Commodore 64 in the late 70s.

I think you are mistaken. You may be confused with the conferences offered by
bulletin boards. To the users that *looked* very much like echomail.

 MvdV>> You probably mean you have used BBS's since the late 70s. well,
 MvdV>> I build my own 300 bps modem in 1978.  Ward and Herman can tell
 MvdV>> you how it smells.. ;-)

 EH> 300 baud was the usual speed back then. Not many could afford a 1200
 EH> baud modem back then.

Coming to think of it, I had a 1200 Bps modem as well. That was V23 modem. I.e.
split speed 1200/75. At the time those were sponsored by the telecom who
promoted Viditel.

 MvdV>> I have been involved with FidoNet as a user ever since my
 MvdV>> former host Henk Wevers introduced FidoNet to Europe and
 MvdV>> created net 500. The first net outside North America.

 EH> Cool.

;-)


 MvdV>> Need we go on with this silly "yours is bigger than mine" game?

 EH> That wasn't my intent. I was just telling you how long I've been using
 EH> BBSes and echomail.

Ok. I just brought up the point thing because I think the pointlist is a fair
indication of the rise and fall of FidoNet here in The Netherlands.

 MvdV>> The haydays of Fido were in the early 90s. 30.000+ nodes world
 MvdV>> wide...

 EH> Late 80s early 90s.

Z2 lagged a bit behind Z1. The top was around 1995 here.

 EH>>> I have never blamed it on fights or failing organization.

 MvdV>> Eh? You just wrote:

 EH>>>>> No, it was the FIDO heirarchy who allowed FIDO to die. They
 EH>>>>> could have made FIDO more attractive than uselessnet, but they
 EH>>>>> didn't.

 MvdV>> Seems to me you are blaming the organisation...

 EH> No, I was blaming it on the inability to foresee the changes and
 EH> coming up with something to stem the tide.

And *who* were you blaming then for the inability to foresee?

 EH>>>  Usenet is a waste of time.

 MvdV>> Your opinion to which you are entitled. It seems many
 MvdV>> ex-FidoNet users have a different opinion.

 EH> I have yet to find a usenet group that is worth while.

As I said, it is a matter of opinion. I have come across and participated in
some very interesting news groups.

 MvdV>>>> I can see it from their point of view.

 EH>>> They just want free pr0n.

 MvdV>> pr0n??

 EH> Porn. I used the idiot hacker spelling as a joke.

Keep in mind that English is not my native language. These things don't carry
well across a language barrier.

And I think you are very wrong. It is only a small minority that is after
pornography.

 EH>>> It certainly can't be blamed on the users. If they had a reason
 EH>>> to stay, they would.

 MvdV>> Nobody is to blame. No more than anyone is to blame for the
 MvdV>> demise of the spark transmitter or AM modulation. Something
 MvdV>> better comes up and people move on. That is the way things go.

 EH> Whoa! AM isn't dead, just check 160 meters. Those good old boys on 160
 EH> would call you a blasphemer if they heard you say that.

Am isn't completely dead but it is on the way out fast. The broadcasters are
going digital soon. And yes, there are still a few diehards on the amateur
bands with old AM stuff. Angry nine comes to mind. Museum stuff...


Cheers, Michiel

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